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U.S. Sen. Bob Casey promoted legislation to reform juvenile justice Wednesday with a showing of the "Kids for Cash" documentary at the U.S. Capitol Visitor Center.

Casey, D-Pa., is trying to advance legislation that restricts juvenile detention for status offenses, such as skipping school, violating a curfew, running away and possessing alcohol or tobacco.

The documentary is about the scandal involving former Luzerne County judges Mark A. Ciavarella Jr. and Michael T. Conahan, who both accepted a total of $2.8 million in kickbacks for promoting two for-profit juvenile detention centers.

During a phone interview Wednesday afternoon, Casey said he wants to reform a provision of the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act that allows judges to issue detention orders in status offense cases if a child violated a "valid court order."

"This alone resulted in more than 1,000 incarcerations per year of young people, and it's widely criticized as leading to the use of incarceration in response to so-called status offenses, rather than the use of more effective means to address the behavior," Casey said. "It's kind of a loophole to lock people up."

Casey said his proposed legislation would give states a year get rid of the "valid court order" exemption or require "a more complete, thorough record" when the exemption is used, "instead of pushing people into a pathway in our justice system that doesn't make sense for them and results in some of the horror stories we saw in Luzerne County."

"If they are going to use it, they have to put a lot more information on paper, a factual determination that supports it, an indication that there is no less restrictive alternative for that, being very specific for the time of detention, and just making sure that we are insisting that these courts and judges are held to a higher standard for the use of that exemption," Casey added.

Congress passed the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act in 1974 and reauthorized it in 2002. The act created a set of federal institutions dedicated to coordinating and administering federal juvenile justice efforts, established grant programs to assist states and created core mandates for states. Authorization for its main provisions expired in 2007 and 2008, but major provisions have continued to receive appropriations.

U.S. Rep. Tony Cárdenas, D-Calif., is working with Casey on juvenile justice legislation. Casey also arranged a panel discussing following the documentary. He said he arranged the film presentation and panel discussion for legislators and legislative staff members.

The panel participants included Robert May, the director/producer of the "Kids for Cash" documentary and a Dallas resident, and Hillary Transue, 22, of Ashley, who was incarcerated by Ciavarella after she created a MySpace parody of her vice principal.

A federal jury in 2011 convicted Ciavarella of racketeering and conspiracy, and he is serving a 28-year prison sentence. Conahan pleaded guilty in July 2010 to a racketeering charge and is serving a 17½-year prison sentence.

Casey said he saw "Kids for Cash" a couple weeks ago on DVD.

"I watched it, and I had to return it," he said. "My wife saw it. We saw it at different times, and we were both stunned by it. It was a very, very disturbing movie, and it should be disturbing based upon the reality of what happened to those young people."

The film chronicles the stories of five juveniles jailed by Ciavarella. They share their stories about appearing before an unforgiving judge without an attorney, being ripped from their families and the stigma of being jailed for minor offenses.

Other members of the "Kids for Cash" panel were: moderator Dana Shoenberg, Deputy Director of the Center for Children's Law and Policy; Marsha Levick, Deputy Director and Chief Counsel of the Juvenile Law Center; and Marc Schindler, Executive Director of the Justice Policy Institute.

mbuffer@citizensvoice.com

570-821-2073, @cvmikebuffer

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